2024 Off-season trade rumours and speculation thread

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Mercer is criminally underrated, he's 5th in scoring from the 2020 draft and that's playing behind Hughes and Hischier. Do you think the Flames will be bad enough to draft in the top 4, I think we'll be lucky not to draft 11+ and just hand the pick to Montreal.

The Flames have no defence after Weegar and Andersson. It's questionable whether they have a single forward who would be on the top line of an average team. Their goaltending consists of an unproven rookie, a career minor-leaguer, and a backup who is frequently just bad. That's just to start the season; they're expected to trade even more veterans away between now and the deadline. They have every incentive to tank this year, and know it.

The Flames' first-round pick has no more chance of being 11th or later than I have of owning an NHL franchise.

[gvitaly]

I'm actually a little surprised that some of the shots Ritch Winter took at the Flames in the interview yesterday aren't being discussed, so here they are:

• "The coaching staff[in CGY] so poorly mishandled him[Mangiapane]. It's hard to believe but if you look at power play ice-time per game, among the Calgary Flames forwards last year. You'd be surprised to learn that Andrew was 11th, behind Adam Ruzicka; but what's even more amazing, you can't even imagine who was 12th - Blake Coleman. Andrew would admit that he could've performed at a higher level, but he didn't get much opportunity. We all know that if you can't score on the PP in this league, 30 goals is hard. He did it once without very much PP, but it's hard to do it twice..."
• "Last year the best line in the NHL, complete line, 200 ft basis was probably the Backlund line, yet the Backlund line never saw the light of day on the PP. They could score while checking the other team's best lines, but were never given the opportunity to score up a player."
• When asked if Mangiapane asked for a trade: "He[Mangiapane] made it clear he wasn't happy here[in CGY], but Andrew you know him Eric, he's a very compliant guy, he's a very understated guy, he's not like a Matty Tkachuk that would go to the room and flip a table over. If Andrew was really mad he might say something like:"Well you know I'm not that happy... The trade didn't come as a result of a trade request."
• "I really think that the Calgary Flames starting falling apart when Brad Treliving refused to protect his captain. I think that was significant, because if you talk to the players, that room changed. No one went out to pregame skate because Gio wasn't going out. No one seemed to have the same focus as they did when Gio was around..."
• "They don't have anybody in Calgary that walks in the room with cachet anymore. They don't have that. They've had that with Matthew, a little bit of a different personality. They've certainly had it with Gio, and they've had it with Markstrom. They had those guys in the room that were revered."
• "He[GIo]'s looking to win. Two ways to go about that. Sign with a team like CGY that has no chance of making the playoffs, and be moved to the perfect spot at the trade deadline..."

Other general tidbits that stood out to me, he sure sounds a bit smug

• Once a player clears waivers, GMs see him as an AHL player - Barry Trotz
• GMs don't know his players as well as he does
• There are tow things in every contract - money and opportunity, and he would always chase opportunity.
• They[NHL front offices/scouts] are not always that capable. What business would accept about a 20% success rate? They're drafting at a rate of about 20%. They'll miss 15-20, maybe as many as 30 core players that were available when they were selecting.
• 41 against Gio is just a bias, he's only a few years removed from a norris trophy. - I chuckled at that one, especially after he said he wan't trying to sell snake oil.

I think those are the important tidbits, and I don't think I agree with the Flames falling apart after Gio bit, but he has to pump the tires of his clients. The bits about the Backund line not getting any PP time are fair though. Full interview on 960.

[GullFoss]

I actually don't mind the idea of Gio on the team. He would be great to have as a mentor. I wouldn't flip him at the trade deadline either. I'd think of him more as a really get resource for guys like Parekh.

[Monahammer]

Disagree. Gio is not a cup winning leader. We moved on from. That era no need to go back.

[Niemo]

Flames were a top team without Gio….

[BigThief]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Disagree. Gio is not a cup winning leader. We moved on from. That era no need to go back.

Giordano is barely a going to the playoffs leader, he has zero playoff goals, we won more series when he was injured (2015) or after he was gone (2022) then when he was in the lineup as captain. Gio has had a very good career, his trajectory is wild, winning the Norris so late was insane and fun to watch but like Backlund he was a transitionary captain while a team builds and finds true stars.

I tend to get nostalgic when it comes to former players, but not Gio

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

I'm actually a little surprised that some of the shots Ritch Winter took at the Flames in the interview yesterday aren't being discussed, so here they are:

• "The coaching staff[in CGY] so poorly mishandled him[Mangiapane]. It's hard to believe but if you look at power play ice-time per game, among the Calgary Flames forwards last year. You'd be surprised to learn that Andrew was 11th, behind Adam Ruzicka; but what's even more amazing, you can't even imagine who was 12th - Blake Coleman. Andrew would admit that he could've performed at a higher level, but he didn't get much opportunity. We all know that if you can't score on the PP in this league, 30 goals is hard. He did it once without very much PP, but it's hard to do it twice..."
• "Last year the best line in the NHL, complete line, 200 ft basis was probably the Backlund line, yet the Backlund line never saw the light of day on the PP. They could score while checking the other team's best lines, but were never given the opportunity to score up a player."
• When asked if Mangiapane asked for a trade: "He[Mangiapane] made it clear he wasn't happy here[in CGY], but Andrew you know him Eric, he's a very compliant guy, he's a very understated guy, he's not like a Matty Tkachuk that would go to the room and flip a table over. If Andrew was really mad he might say something like:"Well you know I'm not that happy... The trade didn't come as a result of a trade request."
• "I really think that the Calgary Flames starting falling apart when Brad Treliving refused to protect his captain. I think that was significant, because if you talk to the players, that room changed. No one went out to pregame skate because Gio wasn't going out. No one seemed to have the same focus as they did when Gio was around..."
• "They don't have anybody in Calgary that walks in the room with cachet anymore. They don't have that. They've had that with Matthew, a little bit of a different personality. They've certainly had it with Gio, and they've had it with Markstrom. They had those guys in the room that were revered."
• "He[GIo]'s looking to win. Two ways to go about that. Sign with a team like CGY that has no chance of making the playoffs, and be moved to the perfect spot at the trade deadline..."

Other general tidbits that stood out to me, he sure sounds a bit smug

• Once a player clears waivers, GMs see him as an AHL player - Barry Trotz
• GMs don't know his players as well as he does
• There are tow things in every contract - money and opportunity, and he would always chase opportunity.
• They[NHL front offices/scouts] are not always that capable. What business would accept about a 20% success rate? They're drafting at a rate of about 20%. They'll miss 15-20, maybe as many as 30 core players that were available when they were selecting.
• 41 against Gio is just a bias, he's only a few years removed from a norris trophy. - I chuckled at that one, especially after he said he wan't trying to sell snake oil.

I think those are the important tidbits, and I don't think I agree with the Flames falling apart after Gio bit, but he has to pump the tires of his clients. The bits about the Backund line not getting any PP time are fair though. Full interview on 960.

That was such a biased interview.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

The Flames have no defence after Weegar and Andersson. It's questionable whether they have a single forward who would be on the top line of an average team. Their goaltending consists of an unproven rookie, a career minor-leaguer, and a backup who is frequently just bad. That's just to start the season; they're expected to trade even more veterans away between now and the deadline. They have every incentive to tank this year, and know it.

The Flames' first-round pick has no more chance of being 11th or later than I have of owning an NHL franchise.

Which team would you like to own if the Flames make the playoffs? An expansion team?

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

• "They don't have anybody in Calgary that walks in the room with cachet anymore. They don't have that. They've had that with Matthew, a little bit of a different personality. They've certainly had it with Gio, and they've had it with Markstrom. They had those guys in the room that were revered."
  

All that cachet led to a total of 1 playoff series win. And Oettinger was close to making it 0.

[Royle9]

Ahh yes, Good ol Rich selling the Flames brass on the idea of Gio coming into mentor the kids and then accept a trade to a contender with potentially returning for a front office job.

Craig gives the “yes thanks but we’re going in a different direction” which results in Rich giving CGY the gears and then bashing how bad the management of the teams been with high ranking players and how bad the morale of the team is.

Talk about horrible asset management followed by temper tantrum rants on the radio.
This all but confirms Gio won’t return in any capacity, hopefully big Rich hasn’t spoiled any relationship for Gio.

Also from what I’ve heard, players are actually happier in the room now and the respect for Backlund is higher than it’s ever been the last few years.

I get a sense that Gio wasn’t the “great captain” Rich is trying to sell, the culture in that room had been bad for a long time and it wasn’t until Backlund started leading the room the last few years that it turned around for the better.

[browna]

Well at least this dolt gets his 15 seconds of pot stirring for the season on a 30c weekend weeks before the season starts. Pumping up your client sure, part of the role, but tearing down others (and easy scapegoats like departed players or GMs) or making opinions about others on the roster or in management and trying to pass them off as facts, is stupid.


Mangipane was not consistent, one breakout year where lots of random shots went in, and playing time is the constant false gripe and last hope of an agent.
Huska has had Mangipane for a while and knows what he can and should do.

Giordano doesn't need to be revisited. As a player or management. Not everyone likes everyone else in management, alumni or not.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Goriders

That was such a biased interview.

Yeah, that's the way I felt about it as well. When a guy says stuff like:

Gio was the 3rd best defenseman on the Leafs last year... In terms of plus minus

I absolutely love both Gio and Mangiapane as players, and I will keep cheering for them, but even I wasn't buying what he was selling. That's why I was surprised to one was talking about that, but only about Gio not coming to CGY.

I do think that this organization didn't use the likes of Frolik, Backlund, Coleman, and Mangiapane enough on the PP, so they could keep everyone's ice time more even. I also thought that those players took pride in being a part of a good PK, and taking on the toughest assignments. It seems that some of the players on the Backlund lines aren't as happy with that arrangement. We saw it first with Frolik, now with Bread.

Sharangovich was suffering from a similar situation in NJ, and he struggled when treated like a bottom 6 player.

[Enoch Root]

Rich Winter isn't paid to be an analyst, or to speak the truth. He is paid to represent his clients.

The more opportunity and ice-time that Mangiapane gets, the more points he is likely to get, which translates to more money. And that means more money for Winter. So he isn't viewing the coaching staff and management through a lens of objectivity, he's viewing them through a lens of: how are you affecting my clients?

Most agents understand that public comments like these don't float well. But Winter appears too stupid to realize this.

Spending any time worrying about what he said in an interview, is time wasted.

[Major Major]

Am I drunk or did Rich Winter not repeatedly say Adam Erne led the wings in scoring 2 years ago? That interview was unhinged. I'm surprised an agent would go on and talk so much trash towards other orgs.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Goriders

That was such a biased interview.

totally ridiculous...and Kadri has far more "Cache" than playoff chokers Gio and Markstrom

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Am I drunk or did Rich Winter not repeatedly say Adam Erne led the wings in scoring 2 years ago? That interview was unhinged. I'm surprised an agent would go on and talk so much trash towards other orgs.

He did lead the Wings in goal scoring in one of the pandemic years - 11, tied with Mantha and one ahead of Fabbri.

[Monahammer]

Treliving and the coaches take more heat in retrospect, but the forums were criticizing in room leadership and gio specifically back to when he played here as a top reason for lack of success during that era.

Some examples of obviously weak in room leadership off top of my head :
-the Hartley super bowl fall out. Why was the coach policing the activities of rookies so hard and where were the vets in the room to reign the kids in before coach got pissed?
- gulutzan train beers. Why was the coach so distant from the guys in the locker room and why wasn't the captain working from the other end to bridge the gap?
- years of rumors of rifts or sides in the dressing room. Groups of players who supported each other
- edmonton series playoff collapse
- Sutter comments about sorry state of team and leadership when he comes in

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by Ped

He did lead the Wings in goal scoring in one of the pandemic years - 11, tied with Mantha and one ahead of Fabbri.

That's incredible. What an awful team. Hardly speaks to Erne as a player so much as it shows how bad that Detroit team was. That prorates to 16 goals. Has there ever been a team who's leading goal scorer had 16 goals?

[gvitaly]

^There was also the Tkachuk incident, at the end of one game. Where the players instead of having his back asked/told him to tone things down. I think it was in the Canadian division towards the end of the year. I remember hearing a lot of rumors about Chucky being unhappy after.

It also was very weird to me that D. Hamilton couldn't fit in, because he "liked museums".

[Calgary4LIfe]

The biggest takeaway from me when from the entire interview is how Backlund goes about his business without complaint. Yes, he asked for a trade, but that was to try and win. Backlund has been continually buried in much of his career from Brent Sutter down to Huska, and he doesn't complain. He accepts his job, gets buried in OZ starts and quality of competition (was way more buried than Bergeron ever really was).


Rich Winter is Rich Winter. He is one of the more outspoken agents, and loves to go to bat for his clients. Maybe this is partially the reason that Conroy just flat-out said no about Giordano returning. Why put up with an agent like that when you don't have to?